Young Students Build a Station for Monarch Butterflies

 

Students at P.B. Smith Elementary School’s ecology club are learning about the life and migration¹ of monarch² butterflies.

They learn in the classroom about the butterfly’s need for certain plants. They learn scientific words for the stages of a butterfly’s life. But, ecology club teacher Barbara Dennee says they learn the most when they visit their school garden in Warrenton, Virginia. There they wait patiently for the monarch to arrive.

Just recently, monarch butterflies landed in their garden where among vegetables and herbs, the students planted the milkweed plant.

Monarchs³ lay their eggs on milkweed plants. There are concerns that the plants have been disappearing because of poor weather conditions and the use of herbicides. So, monarchs, which travel between Canada and Mexico during their migration, now have far fewer places to stop.

Dennee explained to her students that planting the milkweed would create a station for the butterfly.

"We talk about the need for a certain plant for an organism to survive. The big one is the milkweed. That is the host for the butterfly, the monarch specifically. And we've planted, from seed, milkweed plants."

Ten-year old Keenan Whitney said he learned the importance of the cycles of nature.

"I only thought they pollinated one flower, for some reason, but I’ve learned they pollinate a lot of flowers and that if we didn’t have butterflies, we probably wouldn’t have any food.”

Students began to learn how to plant and harvest many herbs and vegetables when the ecology club started its vegetable garden a few years ago. They give some of the produce to their school cafeteria and the rest to a local foodbank.

Then Keely Scott, a high school student who once attended Smith Elementary, needed a Girl Scout⁴ project. She persuaded the school to add milkweed to the garden to attract butterflies.

"I love looking at all the butterflies and I was like, 'Wow, well we have a decreased population in our area.' And I thought, 'Oh, well I can fix that.' So I developed this idea and Mrs.Dennee supported me 100 percent."

Eleven-year old Amelia Jakub loves watching nature. She is excited about the daily discoveries.

“We saw several swallowtails and caterpillars⁶. And there's this really fat one that should be turning into a chrysalis soon. I’m quite surprised at how it can turn to chrysalis. And just how does its body form into the beautiful body of a butterfly?”

Dennee says her mission is to teach children about the connection between humans and nature. When they understand this, she said, she has succeeded in her mission.

She said the experience of gardening is important. “They can say these words, but they don’t really understand until they actually do something,” she said.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

monarch butterfly – n. a large orange and black American butterfly

herb – n. a plant or a part of a plant that is used as medicine or to give flavor to food

chrysalis – n. a hard case that protects a moth⁷ or butterfly while it is turning into an adult

caterpillar⁵ – n. a small creature that is like a worm with many legs and that changes to become a butterfly or moth

harmoniously⁸ - adv. not experiencing disagreement or fighting

mission –n. a task or job given to someone

1 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

2 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

3 monarchs   

君主，帝王( monarch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Monarchs ruled England for centuries. 世袭君主统治英格兰有许多世纪。
• Serving six monarchs of his native Great Britain, he has served all men's freedom and dignity. 他在大不列颠本国为六位君王服务，也为全人类的自由和尊严服务。 来自演讲部分

4 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

5 caterpillar   

n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫

参考例句：

• A butterfly is produced by metamorphosis from a caterpillar.蝴蝶是由毛虫脱胎变成的。
• A caterpillar must pass through the cocoon stage to become a butterfly.毛毛虫必须经过茧的阶段才能变成蝴蝶。

6 caterpillars   

n.毛虫( caterpillar的名词复数 )；履带

参考例句：

• Caterpillars eat the young leaves of this plant. 毛毛虫吃这种植物的嫩叶。
• Caterpillars change into butterflies or moths. 毛虫能变成蝴蝶或蛾子。 来自辞典例句

7 moth   

n.蛾，蛀虫

参考例句：

• A moth was fluttering round the lamp.有一只蛾子扑打着翅膀绕着灯飞。
• The sweater is moth-eaten.毛衣让蛀虫咬坏了。

8 harmoniously   

和谐地，调和地

参考例句：

• The president and Stevenson had worked harmoniously over the last eighteen months. 在过去一年半里，总统和史蒂文森一起工作是融洽的。
• China and India cannot really deal with each other harmoniously. 中国和印度这两只猛兽不可能真心实意地和谐相处。